In Revelation 10:7, the mighty angel swore that once the 7th trumpet sounded, there would be no more delay, but the mystery of God would be fulfilled. We have now come to that moment, and we would have thought that once the 7th trumpet sounded, we would immediately see the bowls of wrath being poured out, followed by the consummation of the age. But instead, the Holy Spirit, through John, interrupts the judgment narrative to give us a glimpse of Christ’s final victory over the nations and of saints receiving their eternal rewards. We saw a similar thing in chapter 7, between the opening of the 6th and 7th seal, where we saw the redeemed in glory, beholding the face of God and enjoying intimate fellowship with the Lamb.
Upon the blowing of the 7th trumpet, there were loud voices emanating from heaven, declaring that “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” The verb “has become” is in the aorist indicative, which can be interpreted as “is becoming.” This is used when making a statement of fact. Although Christ is reigning now over the nations (cf Rev 1:5), there is coming a day when the nations shall be given to Christ as His inheritance, as we read in Psalm 2:8 and Daniel 7:14. Upon this declaration, the 24 elders fall down and worship, giving thanks to God for exercising His great power to bring about the consummation of the age. They mention four things that God would do upon the return of Christ: subdue the raging of the nations, judge the living and dead, reward his saints, and destroy the destroyers of the earth. We will be looking at each of those with more detail during the exposition. The passage ends with God’s throne being revealed from heaven, accompanied with fearful signs, to indicate that He is about to act in judgment.
This passage shows us that although things look dark on the world scene and Satan seems to be winning the day, our victory has already been decided. Christ has conquered Satan in His death and resurrection. It is only a matter of time before Christ returns in power and glory to take what is rightfully His, both in creation and redemption. This ought to spur us on in our efforts to advance the kingdom of God, knowing that though there is great opposition, yet Christ is presently on His throne and is building His church; and has promised to be with us always, even until the end of the age. Finally, this passage also encourages us to press on in our pursuit of sanctification, knowing that Christ has won the battle over sin and Satan, and we have all the resources we need to overcome; for we are more than conquerors through Him.